Video shows Turkish cameraman held captive in Syria

New York, August 27, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls
for the immediate release of Turkish cameraman Cüneyt Ünal, who appeared exhausted
and bruised in a video
aired today in which he said he had been taken captive while reporting in
Syria.

Ünal, a cameraman for the U.S. government-funded broadcaster Al-Hurra, was
reported missing
in the northwestern city of Aleppo on August 20 along with an Al-Hurra
colleague, reporter Bashar Fahmi, a Jordanian national of Palestinian origin. Ünal makes no mention of Fahmi
in the video clip.

The journalist does not explicitly name his captors in the video. Ünal recounts
traveling with an armed group that clashed with "Syrian soldiers and
gendarmerie." He goes on to say, "After that, they took me from the armed group
and brought me here." He does not state where he is being held. The date of the
video is also unclear.

At a press conference in Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu said the Syrian government was responsible for Ünal's safety,
according to news
reports. "He was forced to make a statement that was dictated to him," news
reports cited Davutoglu as saying.

Ünal, whose face showed evident bruising, said in the video that he
entered Syria illegally with armed men from Libya, Chechnya, Saudi Arabia, and
Qatar. The video shows a picture of the journalist holding a rocket launcher.

"We hold Syrian authorities responsible for the safety and well-being
of Cüneyt Ünal and Bashar Fahmi," said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. "We
call on authorities to immediately secure the release of Ünal and Fahmi and
ensure that members of the media are not used as pawns during a conflict."

CPJ has documented a resurgence in dangers facing the press in Syria in
the past several weeks. U.S. freelance journalist Austin Tice has not
been heard from since mid-August. The Syrian government has blocked
international news media access to the conflict. As a result, journalists have
been secretly crossing the border and embedding with rebel groups in order to
cover the story. At least 19 journalists have been killed covering the Syrian
conflict since November, including one killed just over the border in Lebanon,
making Syria the most dangerous place in the world for journalists, according
to CPJ research.